Broken boiler after service

Sophieduffytaylor

Hi, 
We had a plumber come round to service our boiler two days ago and it was all fine until about an hour later when a flashing red light came on and the heating and water wouldn't kick in. Rang him to ask him to come back but he said he was busy and could only come this evening. He has come around this evening and said we need a new seal so charged us another £50 for that. He's gone again and now it's not working AGAIN. Got to wait for tomorrow for him to come back when he will probably charge again for something else. It was fine before the service, where do we stand here? Thanks

Sophieduffytaylor

Engineer*** 

BJV

This is a stupid question, but is this a reputable registered plumber?

It could be that this is just a coincidence. It could be that the parts were just about to go. ( it would be a hell of a coincidence, but it is possible ) Or it could be a not-very-nice plumber taking advantage.

Also how old is your boiler? Is it still in warranty?
 

Sophieduffytaylor

Hi, thanks for your reply. He is registered yes and the boiler is really old but never had any issues with it at all and it went faulty within 10 minutes of the man leaving. Thanks again

[Deleted User]

Hi,

is he Gas Safe registered?

Sophieduffytaylor

He is yes 

HillStreetBlues

I does sound very fishy.
I'm no expect but would seals be something that would be checked on a service?

greyteam1959

And that's why I don't have my gas boiler serviced.

Brie

We had a similar problem about a year back when we had the boiler serviced and then there was a whole domino affect of things going wrong.  Not too ancient a boiler (15 years maybe?) but I think that fixing one bit put too much strain on something else and so on.  Not helped by the fact that the boiler was above our washing machine and they had to move that to deal with the boiler and each time the washing machine wouldn't work because they forgot to plug it in or had crunched the hose or something.  In the end we decided it would be better to go for a new boiler and with a different company who were incredibly efficient and friendly.

Aylesbury_Duck

Not making excuses for the guy, but it is possible that a really old boiler has failed under the stress of the service.  I think (but I don't know for certain) that they're run full-tilt as part of the check, so any old, worn parts are likely to fail under testing when they might have run for many weeks or months longer under normal operation.  Much as old parts of a car can fail under the stress of an MOT, such as when the engine is revved or the brakes are applied fully.

HillStreetBlues

Aylesbury_Duck said:

Not making excuses for the guy, but it is possible that a really old boiler has failed under the stress of the service.  I think (but I don't know for certain) that they're run full-tilt as part of the check, so any old, worn parts are likely to fail under testing when they might have run for many weeks or months longer under normal operation.  Much as old parts of a car can fail under the stress of an MOT, such as when the engine is revved or the brakes are applied fully.

I find if I don't fully apply my brakes I end up hitting something.